nbc bay area news starts now. good evening. i'm diane dewire. >> i'm terry mcsweeney. we're following several stories in the bay area. thousands are gathering in golden gate park for what has become an annual celebration for marijuana smokers. this year there's a larger police presence at the gathering because last year many people complained because of the traffic, the fighting, and some underage drinking. tons of garbage left behind and it cost the city $15,000 to left it up. today's date 4/20 which used to be police code for marijuana smoking in progress has had a special significance for the pot communities since the last '70s. police say there was a stabbing at the sp 2 communal bar and restaurant in san pedro

square. so far no arrests have been made. a fiery big rig crash shut down interstate 101 near santa rosa today. we'll have more on those stories coming up in a half hour. right now this is one of those picture perfect bay area days, isn't it? but there's a weather warning as well today. a high surf advisory. >> let's take a look right now at san francisco's ocean beach. the national weather service issued the warning for large ocean swells stretching from point reyes to big sur. meteorologist rob mayeda is joining us for a first look at weather. >> that weather forecast away from the ocean is plenty warm. you're seeing temperatures in the mid-80s outside, and we don't have much in the way of low clouds. just down the coast down towards santa cruz and those big waves being churned by a fairly windy weather system which has been offshore for the easter weekend and pushing big waves towards the coast. high surf advisory through 5:00 tomorrow morning. this system by the way will bring a big change in our

weather fortunes as we go into tomorrow morning. first, increasing clouds. that sea breeze will pick up. temperatures running cooler, increasing clouds during the day setting us up by the evening commute for a chance of seeing some spring showers coming back in. this is the first of two storm systems we're watching this week. friday's system could actually put us above average for monthly rainfall for a change. we'll talk more about the big changes in our weather and that rainy outlook coming up in just a few minutes. back to you. >> thank you, rob. in marin the coroner is planning an autopsy on one of two women found dead on mt. tamalpais. marie sanner's body was found thursday. the 50-year-old woman was a teacher from mill valley. according to deputies, it does not look like this case is linked to another female hiker who was found dead on mt. tam last weekend. the bodies were not far from each other and both were down a ravine from a hiking trail. pg&e is scheduled to be arraigned in court tomorrow in

connection with its alleged role in the fatal san bruno explosion in september 2010. the utility company faces a 12-count indictment that alleges it knowingly and willfully violated federal regulations that led to the explosion. the fire killed eight people, injured 66, and destroyed 38 homes. pg&e faces up to $6 million in fiennes if convicted on all 12 counts. the utility is expected to enter a plea of not guilty at the arraignment. in a little over a month, california voters will head to the polls to choose their party's representatives. while the election is open to everyone, will the results be representative of the state's ethnic makeup? larry gerston says while whites make up 40% of the state's population, there will likely be around 60% of primary voters. latino, about 40% of the population, they comprise less than a quarter of primary voters. dr. gerston stays the turnout will impact representatives in

government. >> those people nominated will turn into officeholders in november and they will be responsible for poll take making that may reflect the values of those in office more than those as the state as a whole. >> we asked dr. gerston's if congress's inability to pass immigration reform is alienating voters. he says there's no doubt of that. at a resort town in wyoming, there's major concern tonight about a landslide that's still on the move. here is nbc's joe fryer from jackson hole. >> reporter: video taken from the air shows a fractured hillside in jackson, wyoming, with cracks large enough to rip a vacant home in half. what started two weeks ago as a slow moving slide has picked up speed. already the earth is buckling beneath the parking lot of a new

drugstore as more rocks and gravel tumble down with officials warning the chunks could get bigger. >> there's quite a bit of rock slide occurred. >> reporter: across the country, the u.s. geological survey says there are hundreds of thousands of landslides and mudslides each year. >> and like many other natural hazards, they actually do endanger people's lives occasionally. >> reporter: on average landslides kill 25 to 50 people a year and create more than $1 billion in damage. last month a massive fast moving mudslide leveled a town in washington killing at least 39. in wyoming experts say it's unlikely this slope will collapse quickly. still, several homes remain evacuated with no end in sight in a place where the hills are best known for skiing, not landslides. joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. confusion and inaction. according to newly released transcripts, that was the crew's reaction during the sinking of a ferry off south korea's coast. divers found more bodies inside

the ship this weekend. the death toll stands at 58 and about 250 people are still missing. authorities stay transcripts show there may have been some miscommunication between the crew and south korea's traffic control center. at least one crew member kept asking if maeges would be rescued if they abandoned the ship. another crew member said it was impossible for people to move and it was impossible to broadcast instructions to passengers. officials now say the recovery operation could take two months. there's some relief tonight in malaysia after another jet had some problems after takeoff. the flight made an emergency landing back at the international airport in kuala lumpur after a tire burst during takeoff. the airline said the plane landed safely andon of the 166 people aboard was hurt. searchers are still trying to locate the malaysia airlines plane that disappeared more than six weeks ago now. it's believed to have crashed in the south indian ocean but no debris has been recovered. still to come, back open for business. visitors can now go to the areas in yosemite burned by last

year's devastating wildfire. we'll show you what it looks like now. and an update on the crisis in ukraine. what may lead to tough new sanctions against russia. got a story for nbc bay area's investigative unit? call the tip line at 1-888-996-tips or e-mail us at theunit@nbcbayarea.com. ♪ hey, that's the last crescent! oh, did you want it? yeah. we'll split it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light, buttery and flakey. that's half. that's not half! guys, i have more. thanks, mom. [ female announcer ] do you have enough pillsbury crescents? so i should probably get the last roll... yeah but i practiced my bassoon. [ mom ] and i listened.

[ brother ] i can do this. [ imitates robot ] everyone deserves ooey, gooey, pillsbury cinnamon rolls. make the weekend pop.

the crisis in ukraine appears to be headed into a new phase this week. pro-russian militants are refusing to put down their weapons and that's forcing washington to consider moving ahead with tough new sanctions. as nbc's brian moore reports, there are more calls to the u.s. and its allies to step in before it's too late. >> reporter: as christians in ukraine observed easter sunday, the promise of a holiday truce was marred by a deadly shootout

in a checkpoint set up by pro-russian militants. the separatists continue to defy an international agreement designed to defuse the crisis, and ukraine's prime minister says russian president vladimir putin is pulling the strings. >> president putin has a dream to restore the soviet union, and every day he goes further and further, and god knows where is the final destination. >> reporter: the prime minister is pleading with the west for help in building up his defenses. vice president biden heads to ukraine this week offering moral support to go along with a nonlethal aid pledged by the united states, but critics say that's not enough. >> to leave them alone in the manner that we're leaving them alone to me is just unconscionable. >> reporter: at the vatican on this easter sunday, pope francis prayed for peaceful dialogue. while at the white house president obama is weighing how

tough to get with russia if its loyalists in ukraine won't lay down their arms. vice president biden is scheduled to be in ukraine's capital on tuesday. brian moore, nbc news, washington. coming up, inside the burn zone. the keepers of this yosemite, the fire stopped right at the property line. >> a lot of people want to see where the fire took place. >> we'll show you what they're seeing now almost a year later that gives them hope.

a devastating wildfire wiped out hundreds of miles of forest in yosemite last august and also really impacted business that is cater to tourists, but as nbc bay area joe rosato, jr. shows us, life is beginning to return. >> fire started on saturday, and we kept watching, and they said, oh, you've got plenty of time. one to two days, you'll be fine. so we came back thinking we're good, and within the hour the

sheriff was at our door. >> it was one of the most devastating fires in california history. raging through hundreds of miles of storied woodlands around yosemite national park heading straight for roland and robin's hotel. >> i started grabbing things in the order i knew because they said 15 minutes. >> reporter: when last summer's rim fire forced them to evacuate the inn that's been in the family for decades, they never expected to return. >> his response was, well, honey, i guess the lord has different plans for us, we're done, because we really thought this place was going to be gone. >> reporter: once they came back, the yosemite riverside inn was still standing. the sign had melted and the fire crept up to the cabins but it was standing. >> it was very devastating to see how close your property actually came. >> reporter: but 400 square miles of trees and woods are now blackened moon scapes. every we're rust colored leaves and pine needles reveal the fire's path.

their home is like an island surrounded by charred forest. >> it is hard, especially for our kids. they want to be out roaming like they always have, and they're very confined. >> reporter: but amid the destruction are signs of life. acres of burned trees are now being milled and sold for lumber. >> along our right-of-way, we were able to sell some of the timber, the hazard trees along the power distribution right-of-way. >> reporter: san francisco's public utilities commission sold some burned timber from its lands to help offset the damage to a pair of hydroelectric plants on the water system. >> we had our main distribution lines that basically transit power between facilities. most of those distribution lines -- well, all the distribution lines were damaged and downed by the fire activity. >> reporter: the fire forced the plants offline for about two weeks. immediately after the utility went about replacing hundreds of wooden power poles and transition lines. >> this is our suites over here.

>> reporter: now, as the tourist season approaches, they wonder if the visitors will return. >> i think a lot of people want to come see where the fire took place. >> reporter: the family knows life will eventually return to these blackened acres, and the memory of the great fire will become another of the area's stories. >> we're ready to go on and, you know, we look for a bright summer and enjoying the people coming and just trying to put last year behind us a little bit. >> reporter: joe rosa that, jr., nbc bay area news. >> in case you didn't have a chance to get out today, spectacular. >> a great day to have easter. >> an easter egg hunt, it was perfect. >> the weather cooperated. it's been a while since we had to dodge rain drops on an easter sunday. we have temperatures soaring in the mid-80s out towards livermore. dublin, 80 degrees, mostly sunny skies in the east bay. and into san jose you're still at 80 degrees, mostly sunny out there. the late day sea breeze is

picking up and this should be fantastic weather for the sharks game, too, coming up tonight just after 7:00. 73 degrees after 7:00. quite pleasant. a little bit of a northwest wind from 10 to 20 miles an hour. speaking of those temperatures, your east you are ser sunday hi san jose. san francisco and oakland in the mid-70s. santa rosa and napa in the low 80s this afternoon. that's about to change. numbers from the 70s and 80s today, which 24 hour temperature change almost 15 degrees warmer and then this time yesterday. we're going to see these going to minus symbols tomorrow. we're going to be seeing a big drop in temperatures as the clouds start to thicken up, not just with the sea breeze which is starting to punch in, but mostly cloudy skies during the day tomorrow which will lead to a chance of seeing some rain, especially for the north bay late in the day. right now the satellite radar view looks mainly clear but off to the coast we have this weather system that will begin to move towards the bay area later tonight and during the day tomorrow. so as this trough starts to

approach the bay area, you're going to notice a big drop in temperatures. breezy conditions tomorrow. highs in the 60s and 70s and at least a chance of seeing rain developing late mainly for the north bay. not much of an impact during the day other clouds and breezy conditions. monday night into tuesday, brief chance of seeing some light rain moving through the bay area. a rainfall total out of the system may be enough to wet the ground at times. not a whole lot showing up there, but watch what happens as we get into friday and saturday. a much different story coming up. sierra locations, maybe a couple inches of snow out of that system but the main event we're watching for you here is friday into saturday. the future cast here looking more like a february to early march weather system. a cold one at that. that will drop some rain for the bay area and some sierra snow. time frame on friday, showers into saturday, and cool temperatures continuing into sunday with the rainfall predictions for the second storm friday through monday getting close to a half inch of rain which is significant because if we could manage those rain totals, we could see places like

san francisco actually going above the monthly average of rainfall. right now we're at 1.27. close to the monthly average. that would put us above average for a change if that rain comes through later this week which it looks like it should. that's good news. coming up in the seven-day forecast. tomorrow, no 80s on the board, maybe some low 70s around the south bay before the clouds fill in. peninsula temperatures in the mid-60s. san francisco high in the low 60s tomorrow. down from the 70s we saw today. and into the north bay we have highs in the upper 60s to near 70 with some rain showing up for the evening and tri-valley temperatures cooling off as well. mid-70s tomorrow and then the rest of the week you'll see the temperatures really dropping off. second half of the week you will see the numbers friday, saturday, into sunday, your next weekend outlook does not look like what we just saw. no 80s on the board but perhaps much-needed rainfall friday into saturday, then perhaps a little more into sunday as we see the temperatures staying cool for the rest of the week. after tomorrow, highs staying in the 60s to low 70s with more opportunities for rain approaching next weekend. back to you.

>> wild stuff, rob. thanks very much. and still to come, so what happens when you don't get out of the way of a fastball you ask? >> well, i think we know. coming up, more on the pitch -- oh! let's just say it missed the bat and the player who is nursing a nasty bruise. folks, it's a happy ending. stay with us. the answer to treating your dog's fleas and ticks is staring you right in the face. nexgard from the makers of frontline® plus it's the only chew that kills both fleas and american dog ticks. vets recommend it, and dogs, well they're begging for it.

nexgard is for dogs only and hasn't been evaluated for use in pregnant, breeding or lactating dogs. reported side effects include vomiting, dry flaky skin, diarrhea, lethargy and lack of appetite. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures. recommended by vets. loved by dogs. from the makers of frontline® plus.

former boxer rubin "hurricane" carter has died. he spent 19 years in prison for murder before being released in 1985. that's when a judge ruled the convictions were based on racism rather than reason. carter went on to live in canada, and he worked as an advocate for the wrongly convicted. his story was the motivation for bob dylan's song hurricane and the 1999 film of the same name starring denzel washington. he was battling prostate cancer before he died at his home in toronto. hurricane carter was 76 years old. a minor league baseball player is recovering today from a very close call. he got hit in the face by a

90-mile-per-hour fastball. he's doing okay, but some of what you're about to see might be kind of tough to watch. nbc's kerry sanders has the story. >> the center fielder. >> reporter: minor league ball, top of the seventh. the batter gets a 90-mile-an-hour fastball high and -- >> inside. it hits him on the helmet. >> a pitch that was just inches from hitting his helmet. instead, a direct hit to deshield's face. he is the starting center fielder with the corpus christi hooks. he tweeted this gruesome picture of himself from the hospital. that's not photo shopped. doctors say the incident at home plate fractured his cheek. hours later, another photo, thumbs up. deshields tweeting i'm doing fantastic. blessed to see another day. >> a little loopy on meds right now, but feeling good. not really much pain.

feel a little awkward in the face. >> reporter: the 21-year-old houston astros prospect says he doesn't remember what happened. just the aftermath. >> and i was like it can't look as bad as i think. i looked in the mirror and i was like, wow, then i started laughing. >> reporter: at the rawlings test facility in suburban st. louis, it's clear the damage a ball can do to a player. this is what a 90-mile-an-hour fastball looks like when it strikes a watermelon. >> baseball is a relatively safe spord, so thankfully we don't see these kind of injuries very often, but it really makes sense to me to start thinking about protecting people's faces. >> reporter: deshields says he's unfazed and he'll be back. the real test, of course, will be when he's back in the batter's box. his father, a former major leaguer himself, thinks his son will be fine. >> i don't think he'll have a problem getting back on the horse. he's a tough kid, and he'll be back. >> reporter: like all injured

athletes, deshields is anxious to return to play, but that won't happen until doctors give him the all-clear. >> i've got a son who plays little league baseball, and it crosses your mind every time there's a pitch up and in. maybe they could have more protective gear but at some point you have to just let them play i guess. >> it's unbelievable he's okay. he's got such a good attitude about the whole thing. >> and it is so -- >> oh. a very different story about another baseball player father/son duo. the son is following his father's athletic footsteps. >> only he's wearing ballet shoes instead of spikes. west to be recently joined the san francisco's prestigious ballet. his father telling nbc bay area he's proud of his son's hard work noting weston has been dancing since age 4. he says there are similarity between ballet and baseball. he and weston have lots of conversations about preparation, injuries, and consistent

performance. yes weston is a big giants fan and often joins dad at the ballpark, and if you're in the ballet instead of a baseball team, you're not going to get hit by a 90-mile-per-hour fastball. that's an old saying. >> that is totally true. on the other hand, you can get hurt in ballet all kinds of crazy injuries in ballet, too. >> ankle i would think. >> yeah, yeah. coming up in the next half hour, changing gears a bit. we had a violent morning in san jose. we'll have the latest on a stabbing actually outside a popular bar. and a semi truck crash and fire in the north bay. the crash scene that had part of highway 101 shut down for hours also. i am chase cane at golden gate park where today is not just easter, it's also a holiday for those who celebrate marijuana. we'll tell you how things are going out here coming up. [ male announcer ] get to subway for the spicy italian, now the $3 six-inch select of april. try it fresh toasted on garlic bread with shredded mozzarella and top it with your choice of fresh veggies like crisp cucumbers. it's the $3 six inch select of april.

subway. eat fresh.

right now at 5:00, a traffic mess in the north bay.

the big rig that flipped over, caught on fire, and forced crews to shut down part of 101 today. also coming up, four people were stabbed outside a san jose bar. what may have led up to that violence. plus, you can smell it in the air. the attempt to snuff out problems from the annual pot party here in the bay area. good evening. i'm terry mcsweeney. >> i'm diane dwyer. 4/20 is a day for marijuana smokers. the annual event at golden gate park draws thousands of people which means traffic, trash, and usually quite a few arrests. nbc bay area's chase cain joins us from the city with a look. hello, chase. >> reporter: hello, diane. terry may have said it best a moment ago, you can definitely smell it in the air. if you look behind me, everyone is having a good time but fortunately there have not been any major problems to report so far this year. although san francisco police and park rangers were out here patrolling early today. they have been trying to sort of have a show of force in hopes of keeping things under control.

they've been looking not so much for drug use but they have been looking for people who would be selling drugs in the park. also anyone with an open container, any underage drinking, those sort of things. we did walk through the park a few moments ago and we could tell you there was plenty of all of the above. pretty much anything you can imagine is going on inside golden gate park. for the most part it seems like police and rangers are sort of keeping their distance and staying back unless, of course, thins get out of control. there's a fire truck moving through here for just a moment so we apologize for that. but we did talk to some people earlier about how they felt about these increased police patrols. >> behind you you can see not more than one, two, three, four, five, six, seven police cars. so i believe there's a heightened police presence, yes. >> reporter: and do you think that's good or bad? >> good for safety but bad when it comes to police harassment. it's just people here celebrating something that we